wellness
Screen Time Before Bed Disrupts Sleep for Preston Residents, Research Shows
Evening device habits cut into rest for many in Preston, according to recent studies on light exposure and melatonin.
How we reported this
A March 2026 analysis from the Sleep Research Society tracked 1,200 adults and found that those who used phones or tablets for more than 45 minutes after 9pm took 22 minutes longer to fall asleep than those who stopped earlier.
The timing matters because Preston residents face longer commutes and later work emails than they did five years ago, pushing screen use deeper into the evening on routes along the A6 and through the city centre. Shift patterns at local distribution hubs near the M6 add to the load for hundreds of workers who scroll to unwind.
Preston programmes already in place
Two local efforts target the issue directly. The University of Central Lancashire runs free evening sessions on Tom Benson Way that teach residents how to set device timers before bed. Staff there report steady attendance from people living in Fulwood and Ashton. At the same time, the Preston City Council wellness team offers drop-in talks every Tuesday at the Harris Library on Market Street, where participants test blue-light filters on their own phones.
These sessions grew out of a pilot that started in January 2025 after council data showed rising GP visits for sleep complaints in Ribbleton and Deepdale wards. Organisers kept the format practical, focusing on simple changes rather than lectures.
One 2025 University of Central Lancashire survey of 850 Preston adults found 62 percent used a screen within 30 minutes of lying down, and those users averaged 5.8 hours of sleep on weeknights compared with 7.1 hours for the rest of the sample.
Small changes that add up
Researchers recommend keeping the bedroom phone-free and switching to paper books or radio after 9pm. The Harris Library now lends blue-light glasses at no charge for two weeks, and the UCLan sessions include printed checklists that users can stick on bedside tables. People who tried the checklist for seven nights reported an average 14-minute improvement in sleep onset, according to follow-up forms collected last month. Local GPs on Garstang Road have begun handing out the same checklist during routine visits.